Hamptons
Collegiate Baseball was established in 2007 with the express goal of
bringing a competitive brand of summer baseball to the exclusive
Hamptons region on Long Island. In time, the organization hoped to
establish a league that one day might rival the Cape Cod League not
only in structure, but in national stature.

From
one club in 2008 that participated in the nearby Atlantic Collegiate
League, to seven clubs in 2012 that formed their own division in the
ACBL, the lofty goals of the Hamptons organization began to fall into
place, if not in baby steps. But the biggest development in the
evolution of the Hamptons Collegiate League occurred last November
when the seven-team organization elected to break away from the ACBL
and form a league of its own, with 2013 its first year of operation.

From
a playing standpoint, there was little to distinguish 2013 from 2012
on the Hamptons, though observers familiar with the league thought
the pitching overall was a little deeper this summer, while the
quality of the position talent wasn’t quite so apparent.
Appropriately, seven of the top nine players on the accompanying list
of top prospects are pitchers, though the No. 1 prospect is an
outfielder, North Fork’s Nick Heath. Pitching also dominated a
corresponding ACBL survey from a year ago, when the first nine
players were from the Hamptons Division, with pitchers occupying the
first five spots.

With
its destination location on an exclusive island within striking
distance of a major Northeast city, along with a similar operating
philosophy, the HCBL is similar to the Cape Cod League in geography
and many other respects, but its challenge going forward will be to
secure talent more in line with the elite-level prospects that find
their way to the 129-year-old Cape League each summer. On that score,
the fledgling, young Hamptons League still has its work cut out for
it.

TOP
20 PROSPECTS1.
NICK HEATH, of, North Fork Ospreys (Northwestern State/RS-FR in 2014)For
a player who was red-shirted as a freshman at Northwestern State,
Heath’s performance on the summer for North Fork was eye opening.
He hit .326-2-18 and played center field on a daily basis for the
league-champion Ospreys, but his real impact came in his role as a
leadoff hitter for the team as he led the Hamptons League with 35
runs, four triples and 33 walks, while finishing one off the league
lead in stolen bases, with 34 bags in 40 attempts. Heath was second
in the running for league MVP, but earned the nod in the playoffs by
leading the Ospreys, who were dead-last in the league at one point in
the second half, to an unexpected title. He went 5-for-11 in the
best-of-3 championship series, and scored both runs in his team’s
dramatic 2-1 win over Center Moriches in the third and deciding
encounter, with the winning tally coming in the bottom of the eighth
inning when he reached base on an infield single, stole second and
scored on a double. Heath was easily the best and most dangerous
player in the league by the end of the season. The 6-foot, 170-pound
Kansas product most impressed scouts with his game-changing speed,
which impacted all areas of his game in positive ways. He was clocked
in the 60-yard dash at the league all-star game in a lightning-quick
6.44 seconds, but was hardly a one-dimensional talent as he also
showed sound hitting ability, line-drive power, solid base-running
skills and an ability to run down balls in the outfield. Heath still
remains raw in several areas of his game. He will need to work on
shortening his swing, particularly in two-strike counts, while
improving his instincts both on the bases and in the field. Most of
the issues he needs to work on should be addressed by simply playing
the game on an everyday basis over the next two college seasons.

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